


Schnee von Gestern

by ruff_ethereal



Category: RWBY
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Established Relationship, F/F, Future Fic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 00:34:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15231480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruff_ethereal/pseuds/ruff_ethereal
Summary: A woman stands outside the headquarters of the Schnee Dust Company, witnessing the final nail being put into its coffin.





	Schnee von Gestern

**Author's Note:**

> Title is German, literally: "Snow of Yesterday."

She was there among the crowds, watching them take the once beloved snowflake off the face of the building, removed the curtain that revealed its new name:

Atlas Dust Company Headquarters

The people there cheered, almost all of them Faunus, a great deal of them sporting mangled features or prostheses, many of them standing with their families. The members of the Atlesian Council or their representatives shook hands with the executives of the kingdom’s newest state-owned enterprise, before they posed for pictures and video opportunities. She could already hear some of the commentary from the media reporters on the ground:

“… And with that, it truly is the end for the Schnee Dust Company, one of the most iconic and important corporations in all of Remnant’s history, one of the biggest drivers of the prosperous post-war economy and technology boom, one of the most proud legacies of Atlas now to become one of its most infamous cautionary tales...”

“… Around the world, similar ceremonies are happening, or are scheduled to happen to other branches, dust mines, and processing facilities in the near future, the last steps to the complete dismantling of the Schnee Dust Company and all its subsidiaries...”

“… One can only imagine what the disgraced Jacques Schnee is feeling, if he has been granted a brief reprieve from solitary confinement to watch...”

The Council members started to leave in their cars or airships, the executives began to head into the building, the masses and the media outside either joined them for the grand tour of the renovated interior, or began to disperse, especially now that the wind was picking up and the clouds were moving back in.

It seemed as if the weather itself had decided it would only withhold its wrath until the end of the ceremony, no later and no sooner.

She pulled her hood tighter around her head, burying her face in the warm fur around its rim, further obscuring her features. She marched away from Schnee—no, Atlas Dust Company’s HQ—past the other tall and imposing buildings that surrounded it, and to the subway station. She glanced up at the entrance sign as she merged with the crowds piling in or trying to escape the tunnel; the sign had already been changed to reflect its new name, “ADC Station,” and had already been that way for so long it was impossible to tell just exactly when the paint had been new.

She sighed, shook her head, and focused on moving along with or through the crowds; she had already been out far longer than she said she would be.

Twenty minutes later, she finally stepped through the front entrance of her hotel, far, _far_ away from the gleaming city center.

The glass doors groaned and screeched as they slid apart, she grimaced as she passed through the air curtain, now more an unpleasant, too powerful blast of heat than something to smooth the transition into the warm interior ~~.~~ T he automated doorman activated and offered to take her coat with its tinny voice, but it its arm jammed as it tried to extend it towards her.

She ignored it as she headed into the lounge at the side of the lobby, came to the one of the worn arm-chairs where a woman was sitting cross-legged on the seat, busy eating out of a giant bag of cookies. She waited until the woman finally noticed her presence and looked up.

“I’m back, Ruby,” Weiss said, smiling.

Ruby dropped the two cookies already in her hand back into the bag, carefully set it aside, before she launched out of the chair with blinding speed.

Weiss instinctively opened her arms and braced her legs, catching Ruby, spinning around and around, until they safely crashed side-by-side into the soft, overstuffed cushion than the worn hardwood floor.

“Weith~!” Ruby said through a mouthful of cookies. She paused, rapidly chewed through it and swallowed, before she continued, “I was getting worried something had happened, you were gone for long!”

“I’m sorry, Ruby,” Weiss said sheepishly, “it seems I seriously underestimated how long I would be staying.”

Ruby nodded, her expression softening. “How are you feeling? Now that it’s really, _really_ over?”

“Conflicted, really,” Weiss said as she untangled herself from Ruby, and sat up on the arm-chair.

“On the one hand, I’m _really_ happy that the _bastardized monstrosity_ that my father has turned the SDC into has finally been slain, it’s taking down so many other corrupt organizations and individuals with it, and the rest are rushing to convince the world they’ve severed whatever ties they had to any of them, if they aren’t already hiding before the Ministry of Law sets its sights on them, too.”

Weiss sighed heavily. “On the other hand, my grandfather’s legacy has finally died, too, there’s no way no one will ever proudly call themselves a Schnee within the next generation or two, and that particular life goal has been stricken off the list in the worst way possible...”

“So what do you want to do now...?” Ruby asked, now sitting up with Weiss.

Weiss shrugged. “I don’t know, really. There’s no more company. My family legacy has been irrevocably tarnished and ruined, short of some massive, world-changing miracle like my grandfather’s first expedition. This is the first in my life I’ve never really had anything to live up to, to guide my life by...”

Ruby nodded. “You think we should go to the Lodge and find a therapist for existential crises?”

Weiss shook her head. “No, not yet; I’ve still got pretty solid reasons to keep on living—you, for one,” she said, before she leaned in and kissed Ruby on her lips.

Ruby blushed, and smiled. “That’s good to hear…” she said.

Weiss smiled back, before she suddenly frowned. “Hey Ruby? Do you mind if we do something kinda dumb?”

“Like, how so kinda dumb?” Ruby asked as she grabbed the bag and put it into her lap.

Weiss sighed. “Like eating cookies instead of drinking shots in honour of the SDC, and what my family name used to mean...”

“I’m cool with that!” Ruby said as she pulled out a cookie. “You want to start?”

“Yes,” Weiss said as she grabbed one for herself, and raised it in the air. “To the death of the Schnee Dust Company and end of the glorious legacy of my grandfather, Nicholas Schnee! Alas, his flame could only keep burning for so long without him.”

Ruby shoved her cookie into her mouth as usual, Weiss ate hers with large bites. They finished those, and took out a second each.

“To the success of the Atlas Dust Company, and the birth of the many other corporations soon to provide dust for all of Remnant! May they be prosperous for generations to come, may they stay on the right path, and may their ends be more dignified and honourable than their predecessor’s was.”

They took out a third pair.

“And to the future, whatever it may hold for a woman who’s lost her life’s purpose, the honour of her family name, and all the privileges and riches that from it, but still has everything else—such as a wonderful, supportive girlfriend, willing to help her mourn, however dumb the practice itself may be.”

Weiss chewed her through her third cookie, before she sighed, and leaned against Ruby.

“You feeling better?” Ruby asked.

“No, I need a **drink.”** Weiss replied flatly. “How in the _hell_ do you consume so many of these in a row in one sitting and never manage to choke, or feel like you’ve started shoving rocks and dry sand into your mouth?!”

Ruby smiled and giggled. “Want to head to the bar and see what they’ve got there?”

“Yes, please.”

**Author's Note:**

> It's safe to say I'm a LITTLE bit tired of all the "Weiss takes over the company" cliche every single future fic seems to have.


End file.
